


Look At Me

by orphan_account



Category: Metal Gear
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Otasune, snake is a himbo as always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21525568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Two idiots don't know how to hold hands, more at three.
Relationships: Otacon/Solid Snake
Comments: 9
Kudos: 88





	Look At Me

The two-man team that formed the backbone of Philanthropy were holed up in their back-alley apartment, waiting out the vicious, snowy weather outside. The snow reminded them of where they first met, but the howling wind accompanying it drowned out any hope of fond recollection. Not that there was much fond to recollect about Shadow Moses in the first place.

Snake grumbled something about the weather under his breath as he leaned back against the couch, which gave out a perilous creak. Running a calloused hand through messy brown hair, he turned to look at the man next to him. Hal was practically the polar opposite to him, the scrawny angles to contrast his own well-defined form. The self-proclaimed ‘otaku’ appeared to be engrossed in some Gundam TV anime, knees curled up to his chest and trademark glasses reflecting the occasional flashing lights. Snake’s gaze softened somewhat. He was glad he’d rescued Meryl back on that fateful island, but part of him still felt guilty about having to leave Hal behind after everything. It wasn’t like his fling exactly worked out… no, the soldier had soon realised that loving just wasn’t in the cards for him. 

Well, not with a woman, anyway.

The tangle of feelings Snake got in the pit of his stomach when he looked at his work partner confused him. Of one thing he was certain, he wanted to protect Hal to the ends of the Earth and back. As for the rest? He didn’t like to think about it. Sometimes he felt like their gazes would meet for a little too long, or he’d catch a glimpse of a happy trail when Hal leaned over his computer desk that sent his cheeks hot and his mind racing. He daren’t admit it out loud. What if this was just another Meryl-type phase? What if the other man found it weird and stopped talking to him? Perish the thought.

Hal, meanwhile, was very much aware of the other man’s eyes fixed on him, and he shuffled in his seat a little. He cautiously turned his head to look at Snake, who quickly pretended he was very interested in the Japanese cartoon all of a sudden. ‘Figures’, the scrawnier man thought, ‘he doesn’t want me to know he was looking… probably thinking about how weird I am and how he regrets getting involved in this whole Philanthropy business with me to begin with.’

He sighed. Snake was the very definition of attractive, with his toned muscles, perfectly chiselled features, and deep, husky voice. As for himself, on the other hand, he was just a lanky, bespectacled social reject; a man who devoted his life to fiddling with technology and collecting imported action figures. In his eyes, they couldn’t be further apart, except for the fact they were both loners. Even that had changed in recent times, though. Hal found himself enjoying being around his friend more and more, starting to actively seek his company while he could, waiting up late to make sure he always came back from his midnight walks, cherishing the rare moments he saw a smile or a laugh on the other man’s face... until he’d hit a frightening revelation.

He’d fallen in love with Snake.

Being who he was, love had never been favourable towards him. Most people found his interests and mannerisms awkward at best or insufferable at worst, and of course there were other things that made him hesitant to try and connect with other people, things he’d rather not think back on. Not to mention, this was the first time he’d felt such a way about a man, and despite him knowing that it was normal and nothing anyone should be ashamed of, a strange pang of guilt still twisted in him like a knife. This wasn’t a feeling he was used to. He’d had his fair share of crushes before; he pretty much became infatuated with people at the drop of a hat… but this was different. Something more.

Hal’s gaze flickered to where Snake’s hand was resting on the couch cushion between them, and he was suddenly overcome with a strong desire to hold it. Of course, he couldn’t just go ahead and do it - no, that would be crazy. At the same time, he couldn’t fight back the urge to do  _ something _ , make the smallest move, or he’d never stop berating himself about missed chances later. He tried to form some kind of strategy in his mind, as if getting Snake’s attention was something one could just slap an algorithm onto and execute flawlessly through sequenced instructions. Too obvious a move would be risk embarrassment, but if he made it look nonchalant… accidental, even? 

After what seemed like an eternity in which he tried to move but his body wouldn’t allow it, Hal feigned stretching his arms out in front of him, and when he lowered them again he positioned his hand just so that his pinky finger brushed against Snake’s. His face immediately lit up in a blush and his heart started beating faster. The soldier’s skin was warm to the touch, and even that slight contact felt electric to him. He’d officially made the first move. Now he just had to wait to see how the other would respond, like this was all some elaborate game of chess and not just a desperate otaku trying to hold his crush’s hand. So he waited.

He waited some more.

Snake didn’t respond. His stare was fixed on the anime robots fighting on the TV screen as if he was actually engrossed in whatever the hell his work partner had put on. ‘Damn it,’ Hal thought to himself. Had he not been obvious enough? Was the other man just ignoring him because he thought this was weird? He hadn’t planned for this outcome when he was going through all the possibilities in his mind. He’d figured that Snake would either follow his lead or suplex him through the table. What’s more, his palms were quickly getting sweaty out of nervousness, which was definitely not helping. Seeing no other option, he ever so carefully hooked his closest finger under Snake’s, quickly starting to feel like this had all been another one of his bad ideas.

‘I noticed you the first time.’

Hal froze, but not before pulling his hand away and up to his chest.

Truth be told, the solider  _ had _ felt their hands touch in the first instance, he’d just been taken far too off-guard to do anything about it. He’d been trained for many situations, but this wasn’t one of them. The faintest thought of  _ Otacon _ trying to hold his hand was enough to send his mind spinning. A trace of pink dusted his cheeks as he turned to look at the other man, who was trying to hash together some kind of justification, or apology, he wasn’t sure.

‘I-I’m sorry, I just- I didn’t think you’d-!’

‘Hmph, don’t worry about it.’

Then Snake did the unthinkable; it was one of those moments where his body had been trained to respond before his mind had time to process. He reached out, took Hal’s comparatively scrawnier hand in his, and squeezed it tight. 

Neither of them could stop their faces from burning as Snake led both of their hands back to where they had been resting between them. Hal thought he might die and go to heaven, a little bespectacled ghost trailing away from his body like a gag out of one of his favourite manga.

‘Snake, you don’t have to if you don’t want-’

‘I’ve told you, you don’t need to call me that when we’re alone.’

The engineer pushed up his glasses with his free sleeve, looking for the right words to say as his heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t bring himself to look the other man in the eye.

‘ _ Dave _ , I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I’ll… I’ll go upstairs.’

‘Don’t go. Look at me.’

When they both realised Hal didn’t have the inner strength to do that, Snake reached out and tilted his chin up so he couldn’t look away, leaning closer so he knew he was being serious. It was a brazen and intimate gesture, but he couldn’t just let the man he loved get up to leave in a fluster, not when they were so close to actually getting somewhere. Hal was forced to sheepishly stare into the blue eyes that had captivated him ever since Shadow Moses. Snake continued.

‘When we first got into this Philanthropy stuff, we agreed that nobody should keep secrets anymore.’

The other man stuttered something garbled and inaudible that was supposed to be an apology.

‘No, I’m not talking about you. There’s something I’ve been keeping from you because I didn’t know how to say it. I...’

‘Snake- sorry, Dave, are you alright? If there’s something wrong you can tell me and we’ll work through it together, I p-promise.’

‘No, I…’

Again, he got stuck on the word he was trying to reach for.

The thinner man brushed a stray lock of hair out of his friend’s face, with a look of genuine concern that made Snake scream at himself internally for not being able to give him an honest answer about what he was thinking. 

‘I’ll be here for you, no matter what. You know that.’

‘Damn it, Hal!’

Snake had never been good at talking, only at doing, so he saw no other alternative than to pull the other man in by the scruff of his shirt and kiss him forcefully on the lips.

Hal let out a surprised whimper and immediately threw his arms around Snake’s shoulders without thinking, pulling him close. He was filled with this electric mix of relief and excitement that was making him giddy, so giddy that he almost didn’t notice himself fall back against the couch seat, taking the soldier of his dreams with him. 

Snake made one of those trademark growling sounds from the back of his throat as he kissed the scrawny nerd beneath him like his life depended on it, one hand at his back and the other combing through messy hair. Not quite able to shake the muscle memories that had been trained into him, he grabbed both of Hal’s wrists and pinned them above his head, earning him a whimper that surprised both of them.

They pulled apart breathlessly after what felt like a perfect eternity. Snake stared cooly at the man wedged under him, but behind his steely gaze a thousand rampant emotions were running free. They wouldn’t be able to turn back from this, but would they even want to? Hal was panting a little, caught off-guard by just how much passion hid behind the unreadable exterior of the genetic-experiment-turned-super-soldier. It was he who broke the silence, albeit breathily.

‘I love you…’

Snake just kissed him again.


End file.
